History
Discover facts about history. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
History
Winston Churchill secured a medical prescription for limitless alcohol from a sympathetic American doctor during a visit to the United States during the peak of Prohibition in 1932.
Winston Churchill secured a medical prescription for limitless alcohol from a sympathetic American doctor during a visit to the United States during the peak…
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Famed physicist Albert Einstein was officially offered the presidency of the State of Israel in 1952 following the death of its first president, Chaim Weizmann, but the renowned scientist politely declined the position.
Famed physicist Albert Einstein was officially offered the presidency of the State of Israel in 1952 following the death of its first president, Chaim…
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France started building a fake Paris to mislead bombers.
France started building a fake Paris to mislead bombers. Near the end of World War I, planners designed decoy railways, buildings, and lighting outside the…
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America tested bombs carried by living bats.
America tested bombs carried by living bats. During World War II, researchers fitted bats with tiny incendiary devices, hoping they would roost inside…
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Modena keeps a wooden bucket as a trophy from a medieval rivalry.
Modena keeps a wooden bucket as a trophy from a medieval rivalry. The bucket is associated with the 1325 Battle of Zappolino against Bologna and later became…
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English servant Mary Toft managed to convince the most prominent doctors in eighteenth-century Britain, including the personal surgeon to King George I, that she was actively giving birth to litters of rabbits in 1726.
English servant Mary Toft managed to convince the most prominent doctors in eighteenth-century Britain, including the personal surgeon to King George I, that…
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The bitter apples people could only spit out
Wild, uncultivated apples could be so bitter that people spat them out, earning the nickname “spitters.”
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A beaver could count as fish on a fasting-day menu
In seventeenth-century New France, religious authorities sought a ruling from Sorbonne theologians on whether beaver counted as fish or meat. The answer…
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Scientists once thought swallows hibernated underwater
Before scientists understood bird migration, swallows vanished in autumn and reappeared in spring. Some scholars concluded they must be sleeping in pond mud—a…
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People once believed geese grew from driftwood
Barnacle geese disappeared for part of the year, while barnacles seemed to grow on driftwood. People joined those two mysteries into one origin story: geese…
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Why wild bananas were full of hard seeds
Wild bananas packed large, hard seeds into fruit with little edible flesh. People favored plants with smaller seeds and more pulp, gradually breeding the…
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Beaver castoreum has been used as a flavoring
The aromatic substance comes from castor sacs and has a history in both perfumery and food flavoring. Its odor can contribute sweet, warm notes very different…
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Medieval watermills put salmon migrations in the way of progress
A 2016 study linked Europe's early salmon decline to the spread of watermills, centuries before industrial pollution. Dams interrupted migration and changed…
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Macaroni once mocked men in oversized powdered wigs
In 18th-century Britain, “macaroni” meant a man who pushed continental fashion to extremes, not a plate of pasta. The insult mocked the elaborate wigs and…
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Why families once slept in wooden cabinets
An enclosed box bed created a smaller sheltered space within a cold room. Wooden walls and curtains or doors reduced drafts and added privacy when several…
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Artists carried paint in pig bladders before tubes
A painter could puncture the bladder, squeeze out color and patch the hole again. Collapsible metal tubes, introduced in 1841, made ready-mixed oil paint…
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Baby-cut carrots are grown-ups with a makeover
Those smooth little pieces are cut and peeled from larger carrots. Producers even grow long, slender varieties suited to cutting into several snack-size…
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Medieval castles dropped sewage down their walls
Projecting toilets sent waste straight down the outside of castle walls, keeping it out of the rooms but not away from people below. Castle sanitation solved…
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When carrying a nutmeg was a status symbol
The point wasn’t just to season a drink: a custom silver grater let wealthy owners display their nutmeg as they used it. A spice became a status symbol one…
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America once had a substantial caviar trade of its own
An 1880s fisheries report recorded large sturgeon catches along the U.S. Atlantic coast and roe prepared for sale under American and Russian caviar labels.…
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The grapefruit began as a chance hybrid
No one set out to invent a new fruit: in a cultivated Caribbean garden, a sweet orange and a pomelo hybridized by chance. The grapefruit began as an…
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Why tea leaves were kept under lock and key
Tea cost enough that households locked it in metal caddies to keep hired help from taking a pinch. The tea chest was less pantry than household security system.
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Why bulk pistachios can catch fire on their own
Oil-rich kernels can trap heat when packed tightly in bulk storage. If the heat builds faster than it escapes, the pistachios can ignite without an outside…
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Dining tables constructed from loose boards over trestles
In some settings, dining tables were loose wooden planks laid across trestles rather than permanent fixtures. A rowdy dinner could send the whole meal…
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